Pabitra Thapa of Bichchhya VDC in Bajura walked for three days to reach to Kolti Food Corporation to purchase subsidised rice in the district.

She had borrowed Rs 3,000 for the rice after her family ran out of the daily necessity.

However, scarcity of rice at the depot itself meant she had to make do with 20 Kg rice, although her family needed 50 Kg. “This will barely last two weeks for my family. Dashain is at our doorsteps. What are we going to do during the festival?” she said.

Pabitra did not even have the option of buying from the local market, which had also run out of daily essentials as the road to and from the area had been obstructed by landslides.

Bimala Thapa of the same locality also shared the plight. “We have spent Rs 1,500 on the way to Kolti to buy rice worth Rs 880,” said Bimala.

Surendra Malla of Rugin, who had come to Kolti two days ago, also returned with only 20 kg of rice, although he needed at least 60 kg.

Locals of as many as 11 northern VDCs in Bajura including Sappata, Gotri, Wai, Rugin, Bichchhya, Badhu, and Jagannath have been hit hard by food crunch caused by prolonged drought.

Kolti depot has been distributing only 20 kg subsidised rice, said depot Chief Ramesh Bahadur Singh. He said, “We have only 1,000 quintals of rice in stock. If we don’t control the supply, it will run out in two days. We have to keep some for Dashain, or else all 11 VDCs will starve during the festival.” Locals complained that the road obstruction had compounded their already dire situation.

Bijuli Budha of Sappata said that if the obstruction was cleared, various daily essentials could be delivered even before Dashain. “However, it seems unlikely that transportation will resume along the road any time soon,” said Budha.

A version of this article appears in print on September 23, 2016 of The Himalayan Times.

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